In June 2002, building on an earlier project that documented conditions at Eib's Pond Park, the Design Trust began work with the Staten Island office of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to create a schematic design for the park's southern edge, an area plagued by dumping and vandalism.

The design was explicitly created as a prototype, to illustrate how New York City park-edge and entrance design could integrate state-of-the-art stormwater filtration technology to protect the park's ecology. This unconventional approach recognizes that restoration of Eib's natural environment is fundamental to the park's recovery as a community resource.

background

The natural habitat of Eib's Pond Park is a living educational resource not only for the public elementary school that sits on its edge but also for naturalists visiting the site. However, the park's kettle ponds, formed over 12,000 years ago by glacial activity, had been polluted by stormwater runoff, causing invasive plants to overtake the pond. By stemming this contamination, the design allows the ponds' native flora and fauna to re-emerge. Developing the threshold between city and park also creates defensible spaces by increasing visibility and use.